Paul Williams - The Sunday World and Nora Wall

On 11 July 1999 the Sunday World published an obscene libel about Nora Wall. This was AFTER the former Sister of Mercy had been convicted of rape but just BEFORE the case against her collapsed. The article by crime correspondent Paul Williams, claimed that she had procured children for Father Brendan Smyth. No such allegation was made during her trial but Williams assumed that, since she had been convicted of rape, he could get away with anything. Other journalists also authored vicious attacks but based them on the allegations actually made by Wall's accusers during the course of the trial. Since Williams invented his story, the Sunday World could not plead legal immunity when the guilty verdict was struck down.

On 27 October 2002 the Sunday World published an apology and also paid damages to Nora Wall. The story was ignored by the mainstream media but appeared in a short article in Phoenix magazine.